Brisbane VS Auckland - Pros & Cons Please

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thegoodwife

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#239601 25-Jul-2018 20:32

Thinking of the future for our 3 children and how the cost of living and cost of housing is getting worse in Auckland and other main cities in NZ.
We currently live in Franklin, Auckland.

We're comparing the lifestyle, weather, cost of living (food and petrol, etc), cost of housing, infrastructure and public transport availability and accessibility.

From what we've read in some posts Brisbane is a clear winner. 500,000 of the population in Brisbane are Kiwis.

50% of my husband's salary (after NZ tax) goes to our mortgage (not including CC rates and insurance).

We're very tempted to just sell the house and move to Brisbane.

Anyone have any advice or tips from personal experience? Have you lived in Brisbane or do you live there now?

Thanks

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#2062631 25-Jul-2018 21:40

One thing to keep in mind that when you go to Australia you're completely on your own - there is no safety net so you need to ensure that not only that you've got a job and a house but at least $15,000 to $20,000 in savings in case things go pear shaped and you need to leave.

"When the people are being beaten with a stick, they are not much happier if it is called 'the People's Stick'"

quickymart

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#2062632 25-Jul-2018 21:40

What is the job market like there, would be my first question?

dfnt

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#2062633 25-Jul-2018 21:40

Cons: Slow internet and Australians

That's more than enough to not move :)

hio77

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Lizard Networks

#2062637 25-Jul-2018 21:52

nas:

Cons: Slow internet and Australians

That's more than enough to not move :)

Exactly this!

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nakedmolerat

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#2062652 25-Jul-2018 22:12

I would have thought Franklin is not so bad. There is hardly traffic down here.

quickymart

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#2062663 25-Jul-2018 22:34

If you have to commute to Auckland though...that's a different story.

scuwp

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#2062737 26-Jul-2018 07:21

Why does it have to be a city? Get out of the main centres and you will find your money goes much further and offers a much better lifestyle for children. Just my 2 cents.

The main problem with Aussie now is that you will get no support. You either sink or swim. Otherwise I would say go and try it out for a couple of years and make your own mind up.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

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xpd

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#2062742 26-Jul-2018 07:53

Keep hearing that living costs in AU are more than NZ, so you wouldn't be any better off. Things may appear cheaper to buy, salaries more attractive, but thats because the day to day stuff is more.......

Gavin / xpd / FastRaccoon / Geek of Coastguard New Zealand

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Wheelbarrow01

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#2062746 26-Jul-2018 08:10

I have several friends who have made the move to Brisbane or the Gold Coast over the years - none of them seem to have regretted it. One couple have recently built a new house - a 4 bedroom place with office and media room, just a 10 minute drive to the beaches on the GC, and it cost them less than $500,000. He started at the bottom at one of the big Aussie banks a few years ago and has worked his way up pretty quickly.

Another friend started a commercial cleaning business from scratch and she seems to be doing pretty well also.

The only negatives (IMHO) about Queensland are the lack of daylight saving and the humidity. From memory of my visits there, it gets dark around 6pm even in the height of summer which I don't think I could ever get used to. And the relentless humidity during my summer visits sometimes gets a bit much for me - we don't really get humidity in the mid south island tho so it's just a case of acclimatising I guess.

I lived at Lake Macquarie near Newcastle NSW for a couple of years and really loved the laidback lifestyle. The heat is a lot dryer and they have long summer evenings before the sun drops at around 8.30-9pm. I'd like to think that maybe I'll retire there someday. The Newcastle area has dozens of amazing white sand beaches similar to the GC, just without the commercialisation and massive population.

Wheelbarrow01

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#2062750 26-Jul-2018 08:28

xpd:

Keep hearing that living costs in AU are more than NZ, so you wouldn't be any better off. Things may appear cheaper to buy, salaries more attractive, but thats because the day to day stuff is more.......

Having lived there, I don't believe that's true at all. I found food and produce overall to be a lot cheaper. 1kg of Mainland cheese (made in NZ) used to cost around $5-$6 whilst in NZ, the same block retails for $10-$12. NZ butter was also half the price we pay in its country of origin. Obviously petrol is cheaper - I think it's still hovering somewhere between $1.10 and 1.60 depending on the state and day of the week.

And due to the amount of competition from dozens of truly independent big box retailers, things like home furnishings and electronics appear reasonable. Some things like car rego are more expensive (I think I used to pay around $800 a year but that included compulsory 3rd party insurance). And beer - that is definitely more expensive, but wine not so much.

New cars are cheaper over there I reckon - Just looking at the respective Holden websites right now, a base model LS Barina in Aussie is AU$15999 drive away, but in NZ the same LS model is NZ$22999 + ORC. Taking the currency conversion into account, New Zealanders pay about $5500 more, plus whatever the on road costs in NZ are. It can't be explained away by shipping - they aren't built in Australia either....

Senecio

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#2062753 26-Jul-2018 08:36

I was born and raised in Brisbane. Lived there for 35 years before moving to Europe for 7 years and now in Auckland for the past 15 months.

Pros to Brisbane:

Cost of housing. Much more affordable than Auckland or any other major city in Australia.

Weather. For most of the year anyway. Autumn through Spring is wonderful. Summer is oppressive unless you enjoy sweating from the moment you get out of the shower in the morning.

Not much else really

Be careful on cost of living. Housing yes, but everything else is pretty line ball with Auckland. Food, utilities, motoring, clothing etc.... There really isn't much difference to be honest. You'll find some things more expensive and others less expensive. Salaries in Brisbane are also fairly even with Auckland. Its not like a Sydney salary that's inflated to cover the costs of housing. Also be careful to understand income tax. Depending on which bracket you fall in you could be paying considerably more in AU than in NZ.

stinger

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#2062823 26-Jul-2018 10:33

thegoodwife:

From what we've read in some posts Brisbane is a clear winner. 500,000 of the population in Brisbane are Kiwis.

I think you need to do some better research. There are only 100k people in Brisbane that are born in New Zealand (2016 census). Even if Aussie born 'kiwis' are included, you are going to get nowhere near the 500k mark (which would be about a quarter of the population of Brisbane).

For me there are two things that made me move from Brisbane to NZ:

Non protected NZ citizens have no automatic pathway to become permanent residents and therefore citizens of Australia, with one exception.
The NDIS. 0.5% of your salary goes towards the National Disability Insurance Scheme. However if you are a non protected NZ citizen then you (and your children) cannot claim against it. Must be the only insurance scheme in the world where you pay the premium, but cannot make a claim.

Costs are generally cheaper in Australia, than in New Zealand, even after taking the currency conversion and lower GST(10%) into account. The two major exceptions is drivers licensing (AU$177 for 5 years vs NZ$44 for ten years) and car rego (but then petrol is taxed a lot less than in NZ), and electricity. They also don't have blistering fast Internet (unless you live in a FTTB/FTTP area), but it should still be adequate for normal household use. Mobile plans are really cheap compared to NZ.

Public transport - like with Auckland - depends on what areas you live and where you need to get to, however I found it much better than Auckland.

Kyanar

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#2062876 26-Jul-2018 11:04

Wheelbarrow01:

The only negatives (IMHO) about Queensland are the lack of daylight saving and the humidity. From memory of my visits there, it gets dark around 6pm even in the height of summer which I don't think I could ever get used to. And the relentless humidity during my summer visits sometimes gets a bit much for me - we don't really get humidity in the mid south island tho so it's just a case of acclimatising I guess.

That's a negative? Maybe you should move to NSW :/ The last thing we need is more people pushing for freaking DST - it's totally unnecessary.

Wheelbarrow01

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#2062914 26-Jul-2018 11:38

Kyanar:

Wheelbarrow01:

The only negatives (IMHO) about Queensland are the lack of daylight saving and the humidity. From memory of my visits there, it gets dark around 6pm even in the height of summer which I don't think I could ever get used to. And the relentless humidity during my summer visits sometimes gets a bit much for me - we don't really get humidity in the mid south island tho so it's just a case of acclimatising I guess.

That's a negative? Maybe you should move to NSW :/ The last thing we need is more people pushing for freaking DST - it's totally unnecessary.

Well it's a negative when you've been used to daylight saving for 40 years. To me it means precious usable daylight hours for recreation after work. Each to their own I guess.

MikeAqua

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#2062941 26-Jul-2018 12:39

Brisbane has better footy teams - league and union.

Downside - summer in Brissy can be hideous (heat + humidity)

Mike

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